Rays to Portland? Fat Chance

You've heard why the Rays won't be moving to Nashville, and you've heard why they won't be moving to Montreal.

But a pair of Portland businessmen are making headlines with their attempt to lure MLB to Oregon.  And even though an MLB source tells The Oregonian the league hasn't considered Portland since 2005, if it helps put pressure on Tampa Bay, why not?

However, there are plenty of reasons the Rays won't be moving West anytime soon.

Oh, let us count the ways:

• With two pro teams already, there's no available disposable income.
• Seattle owns geographical TV rights to the metro.
• Portland is the nation's 22nd-largest media market, while Tampa Bay is 14th.  (Plus Orlando at No. 18)
• This is a city that lost its AAA team in favor of an MLS team, and - after a couple of years - finally considered it a "win" that a short-season single-A team relocated to its suburbs.

And finally, The Oregonian explains it best in its very first graf:

They don't own the land, they don't have the cash, and they don't have a prospective team. But a Portland duo is attempting to drum up interest in bringing Major League Baseball to the Rose Quarter.